Our Partners are getting excited to work with you

When you first looked at the Challenge Dementia prize I am sure the idea of winning £100k caught your eye, of course it did. But there is so much more on offer.

The prize money grabs all the headlines but this Prize also offers finalists a unique opportunity to work with some of the most prominent, sector leading organisations.

In May this year our judging panel will announce up to ten finalists that they think have the strongest ideas and the most potential to make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Potential is the key word here because we are not looking for fully fledged, tried and tested ideas. We are looking for the seed, the nugget of an idea that can bring a step change in the way people live with dementia.

The power to unlock that potential sits with our partner organisations who offer a unique opportunity to our finalists. Tech UK will be providing finalists with a Tech Sector Mentor, somebody who understands the commercial work as a point of reference and a knowledgeable sounding board. PA Consulting has a diverse range of opportunities on offer to meet the needs of finalists from business and financial planning to innovation and prototype development. If you are looking for an opportunity understand the impact your idea can make we have evaluation experts from the University of Essex ready to provide support and are extremely privileged to have support from the Alzheimer’s Society Research, Development and Evaluation Team.

Rob Turnbull

Tech Care Expert at PA Consulting

Rob is sitting on the judging panel of the Challenge Dementia Prize and is excited to see what other interesting and innovative ideas are submitted, because has seen what a difference to people’s lives technology, when used correctly, can make.

PA Consulting is ready to provide a really unique support package to the ten finalists, one that showcases the best of what PA has to offer, from expertise in adult social care, front-line care technology service delivery, service or product design and development, business planning and financial planning through to prototype design and marketing.

Our Innovation Lab in Cambridge, our partnership with CETEC (Centre of Excellence for Technology Enabled Care) and right across the organisation, we have people standing by to support the finalists with their specific skills by tailoring the support to meet the needs of the shortlisted ideas.

Ben Moody

Head of Health and Social Care at Tech UK

We are delighted to be supporting Challenge Dementia in its mission to harness the power of technology in the fight against dementia. As a membership organisation, we work with more than 950 companies across the UK who are at the forefront of technology in every possible sector.

The Challenge prize is a good example of a council articulating a problem and engaging the industry to deliver improved outcomes for citizens. It’s also a great opportunity for SMEs to access the market and grow the local govtech eco-system. TechUK is very excited to be supporting this important initiative, and have Vice-Chair of our Health & Social Care Council, Ali Rogan on the Challenge Dementia judging panel and will be working with our network to offer each finalist a dedicated business mentor, somebody who can act as a sounding board and a critical friend throughout the six month testing and development phase of the project.

Dr. Gina Reinhardt

Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex

We are very happy to be working alongside Essex County Council as a partner on the Challenge Dementia prize. At this stage we know that judges are looking for an idea with great potential, but in November the finalists will need to demonstrate why their solution should win the £100,000 prize.

Our team here at the University of Essex are ready to work alongside the finalists and help them develop a range of tools to define the impact of their idea and enable them to quantify that impact using evaluation. Having collaborated extensively with partners locally, nationally and internationally we have methods that can meet a range of requirements, and we are looking forward to working with individuals and groups to help them find the right approach.

The collective experience, profile and connectivity of our partners makes this a once in a lifetime opportunity for our finalists to develop, test and evaluate their ideas.

Whilst only one idea can win the £100,000 prize we truly believe that all ten will be in position to use the opportunity and the profile of the prize and its partners as a launch pad to secure funding and bring their idea to market.

Don’t forget, you don’t have to go it alone. You can collaborate with other interested people to submit your idea.